


Happiness Found

by on_the_moon_at_last



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Character Death Fix, F/F, Happy Ending, One Shot, Resurrection, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22219636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/on_the_moon_at_last/pseuds/on_the_moon_at_last
Summary: Nyssa finds a way to bring Laurel back. AU post-4x18.
Relationships: Nyssa al Ghul/Laurel Lance
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	Happiness Found

The last thing Laurel recalled was telling Oliver to "not let her be the last Black Canary". While that was a very 'Laurel' thing of her to say, she was most undeniably hopped up on painkillers and not her normal, bubbly, lucid self. Certainly out-of-character when taken literally. Then again, how else would one interpret such a request? Then she was convulsing on the bed and she flat-lined due to post-surgery complications. Her teammates saw her die. She felt herself die.

So how did she still live, you ask?

Simple enough. She and Nyssa had colluded beforehand and administered into Laurel's system a serum fashioned by the League that would, after a certain time period, stop Laurel's heartbeat to one beat per minute, if that. It would appear to even the best medical professionals that the Black Canary had died. It was certainly a better alternative to death and then resurrection via the Lazarus Pit waters Nyssa had stolen from HIVE. Of course, the entire thing hinged on Nyssa being the best actress in the world. In Laurel's view, she excelled in her role as the grieving friend with flying colors. Nyssa, however, would later inform Laurel that she wasn't really acting. They both knew that the serum was unpredictable, they knew it was possible she would actually die. Of course, it was only meant to last for three weeks at most. However long it would take for the team to neutralize Damien Darhk. It ended up lasting over a week, with Laurel remaining in a paralyzed state for the duration. It killed Nyssa to see her dear friend that way and so it was all the sweeter when, at 11:59 PM on April 15th, 2016, Laurel arose. She was fresh, new, rejuvenated. No Lazarus Pit necessary. The blonde found her way to Nyssa's room as the brunette

The pair stood across the room from each other before rushing into each other's arms, enveloping the other in a warm hug.

"Nyssa?"

  
"Laurel!"

For Nyssa, that hug could not have lasted long enough. An eternity would have been far too short. For Laurel, she was relieved to not only be alive, but for her friends to be safe.

But, equally importantly, to be in Nyssa's embrace. Feelings stirred in her, feelings she had once felt but long suppressed out of respect for her sister and for Nyssa's grieving process. She closed her eyes and jumped, just as she often did.

Laurel's lips met Nyssa's and the brunette did not shy away. In fact, Nyssa deepened the kiss.

The pair fell back onto the bed and did not sleep until dawn.

* * *

It was the early morning when Laurel awoke alone; the sun was not going to rise for another hour at least. While she would normally be loath to rise before the great life-giving ball of gas and energy, Laurel felt strangely discontent with the emptiness of the bed. Of course, it ultimately wasn't an altogether strange sensation, just one to which she had become unaccustomed in the previous six months. The early October air was beckoning her and she opened a window. As the cool breeze set in, she soon found that the alternative was preferable. It was already cold in the apartment as it was, and the Glades were not the best place to be, even after three plus years of reconstruction efforts from the damage caused by the Undertaking. In fact, Nyssa and Laurel remained in the only portion of the lower-class area that survived both the Undertaking and the destruction of Tevat Noah. It was small, barely within the limits of the area to be considered a part of the Glades, but it was enough for she and Nyssa. At least for now. The couple had enough funds between them- and that means Nyssa paid for it- that they were able to buy the remainder of the complex and have it all to themselves. They had moved back to Star City in the aftermath of the couple's globetrotting expedition in an effort to reconnect with Laurel's roots. Nyssa noticed a change in the blonde ever since her resurrection and it unnerved her greatly. Laurel had insisted that such a grand gesture was unnecessary, but Nyssa would hear none of it.

Presently, Laurel had elected to creep around the house in her pajamas and search for Nyssa. She called out the assassin's name in a stage whisper periodically until she heard grunts of exertion coming from what had been designated the workout room.

"Nyssa? Nyssa!"

The grunts and sounds of fists hitting things stopped. Laurel descended the staircase to find Nyssa sitting against the wall. She was sweaty, tired, as Laurel sat beside her. Sure, the brunette smelled of sweat and pragmatically hadn't showered prior to her workout but Laurel hadn't either. The blonde rested her head against the brunette's.

"You weren't there when I woke up and I got worried. I thought maybe one of your old coworkers found you," Laurel mumbled.

"I am fine, habibti. I am fine. Merely working out."

"Turning your hips?"

"Turning my hips," she smiled. It had become an in-joke between them after Nyssa's failed assassination of Malcolm Merlyn two years previously.

"Call me that again," Laurel requested.

"What? Habibti?"

"Mhmm!"

"Habibti. How is my darling this morning?"

"Tired. I went to see that statue the other day. It doesn't even look like me. While I appreciate what Oliver was trying to do and I understand the extenuating circumstances it did kind of push me into a corner career-wise. And if I don't want to have to use pseudonyms for the rest of my life."

"I believe I may have a suggestion that may aid in that matter."

"And what is that?"

"His name is Kent Nelson. He is somehow capable of inter-dimensional travel. I do not pretend to understand it myself, but I feel it could be advantageous for us. We can start a new life together. We can be safe, free from the League and whatever terrorist sees fit to threaten our home."

"It seems a bit extreme, Nyssa. What about my friends? What about my parents? I can't just leave them."

"You forget they all believe you to be dead anyway. It would be less torturous than to expect to one day return to their lives and have them be confused all over again as to how you live."

Laurel pondered this for a long moment. "Give me the week to think it over? Then we can contact this Kent Nelson together."

Nyssa kissed Laurel's hair. "I know it is not what you would have preferred, but I can try to negotiate which alternate universe he sends us to. Preferably one that is similar enough to ours that we do not have to adapt to it with much difficulty."

"Deal," Laurel smiled.

One week later, Laurel could still not bring herself to say goodbye to anyone. All the better, she supposed, as Nyssa did have a point. It would be even more cruel to resurface only to immediately inform her friends and family that they would never see her again unless they could jump universes. She knew Barry could travel through time but could he do that too? The mere existence of metahumans was something she would have to get used to but she figured she could come around, especially if they were more commonplace on whichever Earth Mr. Nelson elected to deposit them. Regardless, it was time to inform Nyssa of her decision.

She stood in front of her lover for what seemed to her to be an eternity. She gulped, staring into Nyssa's eyes, hoping she didn't look like some deer caught in headlights. Of course, she did and they both knew it.

"Yes. I will do the thing."

_Really, Laurel? Get off the internet and learn how to talk like a normal person again._

"I will go with you wherever. I will go anywhere with you."

Nyssa nodded, smiling as though the sun had come out, and kissed Laurel passionately. So passionately, in fact, that Laurel hardly registered the presence of a tall man in a gold outfit, complete with a golden and strange-looking helmet as well as a golden cape. Some of it was blue, of course, but the gold was almost blinding to look upon. He nodded and then all was different. Their surroundings, mainly.

Nyssa and Laurel found themselves in an upscale apartment, looking out over what appeared to be New York or Los Angeles.

"Welcome to the Earth designated 29 by the STAR LABS of your native universe," the gold man said. Removing his helmet, he revealed himself to the couple to be an aging man. This must be Kent Nelson. "The Dinah Laurel Lance and Nyssa Raatko of this Earth died fighting the League of Assassins in 2015. You will not be troubled here," he elaborated. And then he was gone, but not before a final "I wish you happiness and prosperity."

For the moment, in the quiet of their new abode, it seemed to be nothing less than happiness found.


End file.
